Parliament Question: High Dropout Rates of Students

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2349 ANSWERED ON 04/08/2025 High Dropout Rates of Students 2349. Shri Dharambir Singh: Shri Arun Kumar Sagar: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the details of specific reasons identified for high dropout rates of Students especially in rural and economically weaker sections in the country; (b) whether the Government has introduced interventions to address issues like poverty, lack of infrastructure or digital divide as causes of dropout and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether there is any plan to introduce community tracking systems or Artificial Intelligency (AI) based alerts to prevent student dropouts in the country, especially in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh of Haryana and similar districts; and (d) whether the Government has taken or proposes to take any steps to check dropout rate at primary education level and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d): The key reasons for drop out as identified by States/UTs include migration, socio economic condition of families, domestic responsibilities on children, lack of interest of children, poor health of children etc. The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing Samagra Shiksha, an integrated scheme for school education in 2018-19 covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII. The scheme has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.Samagra Shiksha supports all States and UTs for different interventions like composite school grant to every school for providing a conducive learning environment, grants for science labs, libraries, sports and physical activities, support for Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, ICT and digital initiatives, School Leadership development programme, remedial teaching for academically weaker students, etc. In order to reduce dropout the scheme includes the provision of opening and strengthening of new schools up to senior secondary level; construction of school buildings and additional classrooms; setting up, up-gradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas; setting up of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalayas; free uniforms, free text books, transport allowance and undertaking enrolment & retention drives, construction of hostels under Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan for unsaturated ST population, reimbursement under RTE Act, various qualitative components, strengthening of teacher education and strengthening of DIETs/BRCs/CRCs, provision of ICT and digital interventions. Government has also taken initiatives such as Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) and implementation of Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) ID to monitor the drop out and other education indicators. VSK has been developed with strategies designed to enhance the effectiveness of monitoring of educational initiatives and their eventual outcomes. A key feature of VSK is tracking of dropout students, monitoring of students migrating from one school to the other, progress of learning outcomes and real-time monitoring of various interventions, aimed at improving access, students’ academic performance and enhancing teachers’ accountability in schools. APAAR, as part of the ‘One Nation, One Student ID’ programme, is a 12-digit lifelong student ID that is linked to Aadhar under a consented framework, as per provisions of the Aadhar Act. In Budget 2025-26, Government has announced establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Education with a total outlay of Rs. 500 Cr. This CoE is envisaged to drive innovation, research and development in AI- powered educational tools, to ensure sustainable, inclusive and equitable access to quality education across the country. The Samagra Shiksha scheme also gives attention to urban deprived children, children affected by periodic migration and children living in remote and scattered habitations. Under the scheme, provision has been made for giving preference toSpecial Focus Districts (SFDs), Educationally Backward Blocks (EEBs), LWE (Left Wing Extremism) affected districts, and aspirational districts while planning interventions. In addition, support is provided through special training for age-appropriate admission of Out of School Children and for the training of residential as well as non- residential older children. The provision of seasonal hostels or residential camps, special training centres at worksites, transport/ escort facility are also available for bringing Out of School Children to the formal schooling structure. Financial assistance upto ₹ 2000 per annum is being provided for Out of School Children of age group of 16-19 years, belonging to socio economically disadvantaged groups, for completing their education through NIOS/SIOS, for accessing course materials and certification. Under the student-oriented component for the children with special needs of the scheme, financial assistance is provided for identification and assessment of children with special needs, aids and appliances, braille kits and books, appropriate teaching learning material and stipend to girl students with disability etc. In the review meetings, national workshops and directives etc., all States/UTs have been directed to reduce the dropout rate and number of Out of School Children (OoSC). Through communication at level of Minister, States/UTs have also been requested to participate in “Bringing Children Back to School” campaign with the full and active engagement of School Management Committees and community involvement through Panchayati Raj Institutions. Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of schools fall under the purview of the State government. The States/UTs including Haryana follow different approaches for preventing dropouts which are specific to different regions or communities based on various factors responsible for dropouts. The need for schools and also the infrastructural facilities in schools, to reduce drop out and ensure retention, are worked out every year by the respective State/Union Territory on incremental basis depending on their need and priority and reflected in their Annual Work plan & Budget (AWP&B). Financial assistance is also provided to States and UTs including Haryana for undertaking various activities to ensure universal access to education.The Department of School Education and Literacy developed a Management Information System, UDISE starting from the reference year 2018-2019. To further revolutionize the school data collection mechanism and to monitor learning outcome and track dropped–out students, starting from 2022-2023, UDISE+ was revitalized to collect individual student–wise data. Similarly, individual teacher-wise data is also being collected and maintained to promote Good Governance. This Department has made the UDISE+ 2023-2024 report available in public domain and the same may be accessed at “https://udiseplus.gov.in/#/en/page/publications”. ****